The Heart Of A Vampire

part twenty six: back home

"Aww, she's so cute," she whispered once it finally began to calm down a bit, even going as far as to nuzzle against her hand.

"She's a stray. It's likely that she's got more diseases than we can count," Vlad butted in.

"Oh, hush, you! I can bring her to a healer. I think I'd like to keep her. Isn't she just adorable?"

He stared down at her blankly, his eyes empty. After a moment, he spoke. "Sure."

Hesitantly, one of his hands reached out towards the kitten, and he placed it on the animals' head. Evangeline smiled at the sight.

"Aww! I think it likes you!" She gushed, noticing how it purred softly at his touch.

"How odd. Most animals tend to fear me," he murmured thoughtfully.

"Well I suppose there's a first time for everything," she responded. "Either way, I'm definitely keeping her," she continued before gently setting the kitten down in her pocket, letting its head remain free though so that it could look around.

"What shall you name it?" He inquired.

"I don't know," she admitted, her brow furrowing. "I shall think about that later.. maybe we should get back home though. I think I'd like to feed it. Perhaps some milk or fish. Besides.. I'm feeling a bit tired anyways."

"Already? We've barely even been here for ten minutes."

"I know, I know. I'm sorry, Vlad. We can try again tomorrow. I'll get a good night of rest so that I'm not so tired any more, and then we can go somewhere."

He looked slightly disappointed for a moment, but after a quick sigh, he nodded. "Alright then. Let us make our way back to the castle."

She nodded in return, and the two silently began walking in the direction that they came from. Soon enough, they found themselves back in the castle, standing in front of the orb.

This time, Evangeline grasped one of the columns nearby tightly for support, and Vlad raised an eyebrow at the sight.

"Scared already? I haven't even begun."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, just get on with it."

He chuckled dryly and raised his hand, performing the exact same gesture as he had earlier, which initiated the same reaction from the orb as it had last time.

The room was completely enveloped in the bright light, which was blinding to say the least. But when it finally died out, they were back home.

The sounds of sailors and merchants could no longer be heard- it was silent outside, save the sounds of birds chirping. A far more peaceful scene.

"Home sweet home," Evangeline murmured.

"Home? Already?"

"I think I'm actually going to quite like my stay here," she responded. "It's going a lot better than I think I ever could have anticipated."